Zawya Express

“Twenty years ago Dubai started doing that (travel marketing campaigns), then Abu Dhabi and Qatar followed, now the smaller destinations are figuring out that there is a correlation between the amount of money you spend on marketing and positioning a destination and the visitors’ flow that you get to the destination and I think they basically are starting now to dedicate certain amount of money for destination marketing,” a travel industry expert told Zawya of the new partnership.

Private sector capital is poised to play a greater role in funding future infrastructure projects in the Middle East as regional governments continue to pursue fiscal consolidation, results from a PwC Middle East study show.

80% of the respondents to PwC Middle East’s 2018 Middle East Capital Projects and Infrastructure Survey said they believe that “private sector capital will play a bigger role in the sector in the longer term through Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) or fully private-sector projects”.

The study said that almost half of those surveyed (49 percent) expect an increase in capital expenditure over the next 12 months, which is a more positive result than when the survey was last held in 2016.

The United Arab Emirates’ stable credit profile is reflective of the financial support it receives from the emirate of Abu Dhabi and its large hydrocarbon reserves, but its limited institutional transparency present challenges, according to a report by the Moody’s rating agency.

The UAE Cabinet’s announcement to adopt a new entry visa system that will allow international investors full ownership of companies and grant long-term visas to residents who work in certain professions, as well as to innovators and entrepreneurs, will increase business competition and benefit the wider economy, experts have told Zawya.

Running the numbers on foreign exchange reserves and general exposure to the dollar throws up some of the reasons why Turkey and Argentina have been at the heart of the recent emerging market sell-off.

Economists have been quick to pin the blame on problematic politics, high deficits and even higher inflation, but there are many other issues below the surface.

Prices for Brent crude oil futures reached $80 per barrel in trading on Thursday afternoon, which was its highest level since November 2014, as traders reacted to the possibility that supply could face further constraints.

Markets reacted after French energy giant Total said on Wednesday that it could abandon a huge project agreed in November 2016 to develop gas at the South Pars field in Iran due to the renewed sanctions imposed on the country by the United States.

As the United States and China begin talks today to try and avert an escalating trade war, the two main financial centres of the United Arab Emirates have already been courting Chinese dignatories, as they seek to become facilitators of financial flows along China's 'Belt and Road' trade routes.

As the population expands and tuition fees continue to rise, the private school education market is fast becoming a magnet for investors and is forecast to grow by more than 60 percent over the next five years, according to a new report.

While the strong growth is forecast for the next five years, the report identified some key positive and negative factors potential investors should look out for.

Did you ever walk around Emaar Properties’ huge Dubai Mall and wonder why a centre with more than 1,000 retail outlets keeps undergoing expansion?

The reason, according to retail experts, is that despite major challenges faced by the retail sector more widely – such as reduced spending power due to slowing economic growth and rising costs caused by the introduction of value-added tax (VAT) and fuel prices – big malls are continuing to perform well.